Stronger Feelings
by NikChik-11
Summary: Everything's just great in Radiator Springs, it's the town's annual anniversary party, and Lightning and Sally's relationship couldn't be any better. That is, until Lightning and his visiting parents get into a fight, and then...Sally's parents showed up.
1. Chapter 1: Glass Garage

_Stronger Feelings_

_Lightning looked down bashfully, inching a little closer to Sally. She closed her eyes briefly as Lightning barely nudged her fender with his own. He looked up, smiling sheepishly. She nuzzled his fender in return, smiling happily as she cuddled into his side. He blinked a few times, smiling shyly at the ground, as she pressed her fender onto his. He nuzzled her again, closing his eyes in content._

"_Is that what I think it is?" Sally heard Flo ask from beside them._

_She sighed, closing her eyes in content. " I don't know, Flo, but… I… am… going… to… find… out… helloooo…"_

_Lightning's eyes fluttered open, looking over at the Porsche beside him. He smiled even bigger, seeing that her eyes were closed in bliss._

"_Lightnin'…" She said slowly, suddenly opening her eyes. _

"_Hmm…?" He replied, still smiling. _

"_Lightnin'…" She said again, this time sounding a little more deep, a little more like…_

"Lightnin'! Wake up, buddy!" Mater exclaimed, nudging his friend's tire.

"Nooo…… Lemme sleep…" Lightning muttered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Come on, bud! We gots ta hurry up an' set up for the annual Radiator Springs anniversary… uh … thingy!" Mater exclaimed, hooking his tow cable up to Lightning's front bumper and towing him out of his cone.

Lightning hit his brakes, skidding to a halt in front of the rusted tow truck.

"Mater… Why do we have to start so early? Sarge and Filmore haven't even started arguing yet!" Lightning said in an annoyed tone.

"Because, Sheriff told me to! And I don't really wanna mess with him…" Mater replied, chuckling.

Lightning sighed. "Ok, ok…" And with that the two made their way to Willy's Butte.

As they passed the Cozy Cone's reception area, Lightning looked in the window, noticing that Sally was already awake. She looked up and smiled, then turned her attention back to her paperwork. Lightning smiled to himself, still staring at her as she worked.

"You was dreamin' bout her, weren't ya? Mater asked suddenly, making Lightning snap his attention back to him.

"Wha? No! What—What would make you think that?" He replied, somewhat embarrassedly.

"Cause you kept sayin' her name, and you was smilin' perdy big…"

"I wasn't dreaming about her, Mater." Lightning argued.

"Sally! Oh, Sally! I love you, Sally! Mwa! Mwa!" Mater teased in a high-pitched voice, making kissy faces at Lightning.

"Mater! Mater, please! Cut it out!" Lightning yelled over him, blushing a darker shade of red.

Mater laughed, and stopped, as Lightning glared embarrassedly at the ground.

"Ya know I'm just kiddin ya…" Mater said quietly, nudging his friend's tire. "Well, I guess we better get started decoratin'. Here, hold this…"

He handed Lightning the end of a rope, then proceeded to hanging a banner up. Lightning sat there, his tire pressed to the rope, starting to get bored. He let his mind drift to Sally, imagining them together up at Wheel Well, him scooting closer when she wasn't looking.

"Lightnin'! Earth to Lightnin'! Are ya with me, bud?" He heard Mater say, snapping him back to reality.

"Uh, yea, yea… What do you need?" He replied, smiling sheepishly.

"I asked if you could hand me a tack."

"A tack?" Lightning repeated, raising a windshield.

"Dang it! We done fergot tha tacks!" Mater exclaimed, setting down the banner. "You stay here, I'll go back ta town, and ask if Flo gots any."

Lightning watched as Mater left, sighing to himself. He drove over to a secluded spot, starting to get bored again. He began to move around some rocks with his tires, forming a small heart. He place a few more rocks, forming an L and an S in the center of the heart. He heard an engine approaching, and quickly threw some dirt over the rocks, hoping no one would notice.

"I got tha tacks, buddy!" He heard Mater yell as he drove up to the banner once more.

o---------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

"I can't believe that we got done decorating so fast." Lightning said as he and Mater drove back to town together.

"Yeah, me neither… Well, I gots ta go. I promised ta help Lizzie out with some work she needed me ta do." Mater replied, heading towards the curios shop.

"Seeya Mater!" Lightning called back, driving the rest of the way to the Cozy Cone. He spotted Sally driving out of the lobby, and quickly drove over to her.

"Hey, Stickers. Are we still on for a movie tonight?" She asked as he pulled up beside her.

"You bet. Eight o' clock, right?" He replied, smiling at her.

"Yep, see you at eight." And with that, she drove off, heading up towards Wheel Well.

o-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

"Hey, Sally. You ready to go? Ah….. No, no…… That sounds to weird. Um… Sally, I hope you like horror movies, cause this one's really, really scary! God, that sounds so stupid!" Lightning was outside Sally's cone, practicing what he should say when he picked her up.

"Uh… Um, uh…. I'm really looking forward to… Ah… No, no! Uh, hey, Sally. You look really great… tonight."

"Well, thanks." He heard someone from behind him say. He turned around, wide-eyed, to see Sally giggling at him. "You don't look to bad yourself, Stickers."

He blushed involuntarily, smiling in embarrassment. "So, um… Are you ready to go?"

She nodded, smiling, as she drove up beside him. They made their way to the drive-in, to see that most of everyone had already gone in.

"So, Stickers… What movie are we seeing anyways?" Sally asked as Lightning handed the clerk their tickets.

"Glass Garage… I hear it's one of the best films this summer." He replied, as they entered the theater together.

"But isn't it a horror movie?" Sally asked, looking over at him.

He shrugged. "Well, yea… But don't worry. These things are never really scary."

Lightning hated to lie to her. The real reason why he picked a really scary movie was so that Sally would get scared, and cuddle up closer to him.

o----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

"Oh my Chrysler!" Sally cried as a crushed up car popped up on the screen. She screamed when the car caused another car to fall to it's death off a cliff, getting crushed by the rocks at the bottom.

Lightning couldn't keep his eyes off of Sally. He wasn't even paying attention to the movie. He just smiled dreamily at her as she hid her face in his side. He turned his attention up at the screen, just as someone shot a gun, causing oil to spatter everywhere.

"Oh God!" Lightning exclaimed, closing his eyes tightly, and pressing his frame against Sally's.

He heard cars start to move around them, and opened his eyes a crack, to see the end credits rolling up on the screen. He opened his eyes the rest of the way, looking over at Sally. She was looking at him with an amusing look on her face.

"What?" He asked.

"Did it scare you much?" She asked, smirking.

"What? No, no… No way." He replied, smiling sheepishly. "What about _you_?"

"What about me?" She asked, starting towards the exit.

He followed her, pulling up beside her as the made their way back to town. "You were screaming through most of it!"

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Yea, ok… So maybe I was scared a little. But you were practically _hiding_ behind me!"

"Was not." He replied, smiling.

"Was too." She pressed, giggling.

"Was not!" He argued, laughing a bit. They fell into an awkward silence as they pulled up to Sally's cone, staring at their tires.

"So, um… I guess I should go in, right?" Sally said, breaking the silence.

Lightning nodded, smiling a little. "I had a great time, Sal… But next time, you can pick the movie."

She laughed, but in stead of going in her cone, remained in front of him. "So… I guess this is goodnight."

"Yep." Lightning replied. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't know if she felt the same way. He inched forward a little, and she did the same. Before they knew it, they were interlocked in their first kiss. Sally pulled away, smiling happily.

"Goodnight, Stickers." She said, kissing him on the fender and heading into her cone.

Lightning just sat there, staring dreamily at her. "Night." Was all he could manage to get out. He sighed as she closed her door, and, smiling to himself, heading to his own cone.

o-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

**Ok, hope ya'll like this... Forgive me if the scene from the movie in his dream isn't exactly right... Lolz, I'm going to try my best to make them stay in character this time... and not too much drama/ crying too... That got tiring. And I have know idea why I named this Stronger Feelings... I guess cuz they admit later on that they have stronger feelings for each other. shrugs Ah, well... Reviews anyone?**


	2. Chapter 2: The McQueens

Lightning woke up the next morning to Reveille and Jimmy Hendrix blasting through the air. He blinked a few times, attempting to wake himself up. As he rolled out of his cone, and out into the bright morning light, all the details of the past night came flooding back to him. He smiled to himself, as he headed towards Flo's for breakfast. The first thing he noticed as he approached, was the two new additions to the regular crowd at the café. He smiled even bigger when he got close enough to recognize the two familiar red cars.

"Lightning!" The two cars exclaimed when they spotted him, coming over to greet him.

"Mom? Dad? You guys are early." He replied, smilng.

"Yea, we thought we'd show up a little earlier, so that we could meet all of your friends." Lightning's dad said. "Especially this special 'girl friend' of yours." He added in a loud whisper.

"Dad…" Lightning said irritably, blushing a bit. He looked over at his mother, flinching when he saw the tears in her eyes. "Oh, geez…"

"My little Lighty's all grown up!" His mother exclaimed, running up and pressing her frame against his.

Lightning looked over at everyone embarrassedly, as his mother sobbed into his fender. "Nice to see you too, mom."

He looked over at his dad pleadingly, mouthing "help me". Understandingly, his father nudged her tire, smiling. "Um, honey… How about we go find that nice hotel that the café manager was telling us about?"

She nodded, sniffling. Lightning smiled at them, sighing in relief. "Her name's Flo, dad."

"Thanks, son. We'll see you in a bit." And with that, the two headed over to the Cozy Cone.

Lightning watched them leave, turning to the rest of the towns folk as they disappeared from sight.

"They're nice." Doc said, smiling. Lightning smiled back, rolling his eyes.

"It was nice of you to invite them to the anniversary party." Flo said, handing him his usual.

"Thanks, Flo. I thought that maybe they'd like to come and visit Radiator Springs… And I know that my mom's been worried sick about me." He replied with a small laugh.

"I could tell." She said, chuckling, just as Sally pulled up next to Lightning.

"Hey, Stickers." She said, kissing him on the fender. "I just got done giving your parents a room. They seem nice."

"What makes you say that?" Lightning asked, giving her a side-glance.

She shrugged. "They were just really nice… They asked if I was you friend—"

Lightning nearly choked on his drink at that comment. "Oh, God…"

"What?" Sally asked, raising a windshield at him.

"They were being really nice and asked if you were my _friend_, because they want to know if you're my _girl_friend." He replied, sighing.

"Lightning McQueen, no they were not. They're just really nice people." Sally scolded.

Lightning winced at the use of his full name. "More like really nosy people." He muttered.

"What did you say?" Sally asked, pretending she hadn't heard him.

"Nothing, nothing." He replied, smiling at her, just as his parents returned.

His father noticed the two sitting side-by-side, and smiled. "See, I told you!" He said to Lightning's mother.

Lightning gave Sally a knowing look, smirking.

"Oh, hush." She said, returning to her drink.

Lightning rolled his eyes, looking over at his parents. "Uh, mom, dad… This is Sally, my… girlfriend."

"We've met, dear." His mother pointed out, smiling at Sally.

"Yeah, but did you know that we've been dating?" Lightning shot back.

"Well, no… But—"

"Well, there you go. Now you know who my special 'girl friend' is." Lightning said, cutting her off.

His mother opened her mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again, when she realized that she had nothing else to say.

"So… I hear that there's a great dirt track out here." Mr. McQueen said, trying to spark up conversation.

"Yes, there is… Do you race?" Doc asked.

"A little, but I never did professionally. I would love to see the Fabulous Hudson Hornet at work, though…" He replied.

"If you'd like to come down tomorrow, I'd love some competition." Doc said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Wow, that'd be—" Mr. McQueen started.

"Does anyone want to see any baby pictures?" Mrs. McQueen asked suddenly, cutting her husband off.

Lightning looked up wide-eyed, shaking his front. "No, no… Nobody wants to see any—"

"I'd love to, Mrs. McQueen." Sally interrupted, smiling over at her flustered boyfriend.

Lightning's mom popped some photos out of nowhere, spreading them out on the cement. Sally, as well as everyone else, scooted a little closer, so that they could see.

"This one's from the day that Lighty was born. And this one's from when he first learned to drive…" Mrs. McQueen drawled, pointing out certain pictures. Lightning hung back from everyone, practically mortified.

"And this one's from his first car wash!" She gushed, smiling wide. Lightning rushed up and ran his tire over the picture, causing it to stick to his wheel.

"Lightning McQueen!" His father exclaimed, giving him a stern look. "Why on earth did you do that?"

"Yea, Stickers… I was looking at that." Sally said, stifling a laugh.

His mother drove up to him, a questioning look on her face. "Why did you ruin a priceless picture, Lighty?"

"My name is _Lightning_, ok? Not Lighty. And I'm 22 years old, so I'd appreciate it if you'd treat me like it, and not show all of my baby pictures to everyone!" Lightning said, frowning.

His father drove up beside his wife, who looked on the verge of tears. "Well, ok… I didn't realize that we were bothering you. I'm sorry that we were acting like _good_ parents." And with that he drove away, Mrs. McQueen behind him.

Lightning watched them go, sighing to himself. He kicked a nearby oilcan, glaring angrily at the ground. Sally pulled up beside him, nuzzling his fender in a comforting way. She felt him relax a little, but he was still glaring at the ground.

"Stickers? Are you ok?" She asked, nuzzling him again.

"No." He muttered.

"Why did you just blow up at your parents like that?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Lightning replied, sighing. "I have to go practice." And with that, he pulled away from her, heading off towards the Butte.

Sally turned to Doc, a concerned look on her face. "He doesn't have to practice, does he?"

Doc shook his front in a "no". Sally sank down on her shocks, sighing. "I'll go talk to him." She said, departing Flo's, and heading after Lightning.

o-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

**Ok, hope ya'll are liking this so far… Sally's parents are going to show up in either the next chapter or the one after that. I'm not sure yet. Reviews? **


	3. Chapter 3: Apologies

Sally drove down to the Butte, driving as fast as she could. When she finally got there, she spotted him down on the track, tearing dangerously around the curves. He was going so fast, he didn't even notice Sally pulling up next to the track. He cut one curve too fast, causing him to spin out. He hit his brakes, stopping a ways away from Sally. She quickly drove over to him, a worried look on her face.

"Are you ok, Stickers?" She asked, stopping in front of him.

"I'm fine!" He snapped, panting slightly. He drove past her, up towards the road.

"Stickers, please… Don't act like this." Sally said, almost pleadingly.

"Don't act like what?" He asked, not facing her.

She drove up beside him, nuzzling his fender. "Mad. I don't like to see you get all angry."

"Well, I can't exactly help it right now." He replied, glaring at the ground.

Sally remained quiet for a moment, watching him as he sulked. "You have something on your tire." She said finally.

He looked down, seeing the baby picture still stuck to his wheel. "My stupid mother, and her stupid, childish baby pictures!" He yelled angrily, attempting to shake the photo off. He sighed in frustration, finally getting the picture off, and settled back to glaring at the ground.

Sally drove up next to him, nuzzling his fender. "I think you might feel better if you talked about it."

"Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about." Lightning said, sighing.

Sally thought for a minute. "Well, you could talk about your feelings…"

"Sally, I'm a guy… We don't talk about what we're 'feeling'."

"Well, you could try… For me?" Sally asked, pouting.

He looked up at her, his face softening a little. "Please, don't give me that look……"

"Please, 'Lighty'?" She teased, pouting overdramatically.

"God, I hate that name!" He exclaimed, closing his eyes tightly.

Sally chuckled. "Why? I think it's cute…"

"It's so… babyish. I'm 22 years old, and my mother still wants to call me it."

Sally smiled, laughing a little. "She just loves you… If my parents loved me like that, I might have never left L.A."

Lightning looked up, giving her a curious look. "What do you mean?"

She sighed, looking down at the ground. "Well, my parents were always… overprotective. They loved me, I guess… But they always seemed to smother me, and tried too hard to give 'what's best' for me. I didn't want to be a lawyer, to tell you the truth…"

"But you're so good at it… I mean, you're the one that convinced Doc to make _me_ fix the road. And getting Doc to do anything is pretty hard." Lightning said, chuckling.

Sally laughed, looking back up at him. "Yea, well… I'm not that proud of running away like I did, but I just couldn't _stand_ them anymore…"

Lightning nodded, looking at the ground. An awkward silence followed, them just staring at the ground.

"Stickers… Why _did_ you blow up at your parents?" Sally asked finally.

Lightning shrugged, still looking at the ground. "I don't know…"

"Yes you do… Come on, you can tell me."

Lightning sighed. "They were showing you my _baby_ pictures!" He looked up at her, realizing what he had said. "And everyone else, too."

Sally chuckled lightly. "Oh, so they were embarrassing you…in front of me."

"And everyone else!" Lightning argued, blushing a bit.

Sally laughed. "Yea, ok…" She looked over at him, seeing how he was looking down at his tires.

"Hey, that's just how parents are," She said, nudging his tire. "And I thought your baby pictures were cute…"

He rolled his eyes, though a small smile creeping on his lips. Sally drove up a little, to where Lightning threw the torn-up photo, and picked it up. She drove back over to Lightning, giggling as she looked at the picture.

She looked back over at him, smiling. "You really were adorable."

He looked down bashfully, moving around the dirt with his tire. "Yea, well…… Wait a minute, what do you mean 'was'?"

She laughed, putting down the picture, and cuddling up to him. "Sorry, my bad. You _are_ adorable."

"That's what I thought." He replied, returning her nuzzle.

They stayed snuggled up to one another for awhile, before Lightning broke the silence.

"So I guess I need to apologize to them, right?"

Sally nodded. "That'd be the right thing to do."

"Crap."

Sally pulled away, so she could look him in the face. "What? Why is that so bad?"

"Sally, do you realize how hard that's going to be for me?"

Sally thought for a moment, smiling when she realized what he was getting at. "Stickers, it's not going to be that hard… I'll go with you if you want."

He nodded, smiling gratefully. "Thanks… That might make it easier."

o-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

Lightning sighed as they pulled up in front of his parents' cone. He turned to Sally, nervously. "Sal, are you sure that I have to—?"

"Yes, Stickers… You have to apologize."

Lightning looked back up at the door, taking a deep breath. Sally smiled, going up and kissing him on the fender.

"What was that for?"

"Luck." She replied, smiling.

He smiled too, inching a little closer to her. "How 'bout a little more luck? I could use it."

She laughed, inching forward and closing the gap between their mouths. They pulled away after a few seconds, smiling.

"Wow… That's even better the second time." Lightning said, sighing.

"Stickers… Remember why we're here." Sally said, laughing a little.

Lightning looked back up at the door, frowning. "Oh, yeah… right. Sal, I don't know if I can do this…"

Sally nudged his fender, smiling reassuringly. "Yes, you can… And I'll be waiting for you outside."

She looked up at him, to see him staring doubtfully at the door. "Oh, come on Stickers… They're your parents. They'll forgive you, no matter _what_ you do to them."

Lightning nodded. "You're right… I can do this……" He took a deep breath, heading up to the door and knocking. He looked back over at Sally, a nervous expression on his face. She smiled reassuringly, driving back behind the cone and out of sight.

After a few seconds, the garage door opened, revealing a very surprised red car. Mr. McQueen sighed when he saw who it was.

"Oh, hello Lightning… What brings you here?"

Lightning sighed, looking at the ground. "Look dad, can we talk?"

"Sure." He replied, driving out of the cone. He looked back into the cone, motioning for Mrs. McQueen to follow him.

Lightning offered them a smile, which they didn't return. He sighed again, looking back down. "Mom, dad, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."

"You don't have to—" Mrs. McQueen started.

"No, mom, I have to say it. I'm sorry I blew up at you like that, I'm sorry I ran over your picture, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my girlfriend earlier, and I'm sorry I'm not the 'perfect son'." Lightning continued to look at his tires, not daring to look his parents in the face. He felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes, and reversed, about to drive away from them.

"Wait, Lightning." He heard his father say.

"What?" He asked, sniffling a little.

Mr. McQueen drove up to one side of Lightning, nudging his fender with his own. "It's ok, son… Nobody's perfect. It's sort of our fault anyways… We shouldn't have embarrassed you like that."

Lightning sighed, blinking away his tears the best he could. "It was ok until you broke out the baby pictures."

His father laughed, as Mrs. McQueen drove up to the other side of Lightning. She nuzzled his fender, smiling apologetically. "We know that you're grown up now, but we miss our little boy…" She paused, smiling down at him.

"It's just… You grew up so fast. Just getting out of school, and you had already left us. And now you're thinking about settling down in a whole new town…" She continued, sighing.

"I'm sorry… I didn't think about it like that." Lightning said quietly, still staring at his tires.

"But we couldn't be any prouder of you." Mr. McQueen said, making Lightning look up for the first time. "I mean, you're already a great known racer… And what you did for The King was just… great. You're the best son a car could ask for."

Lightning smiled, pressing his frame against both of theirs in a "hug". They returned it, staying that way for a few minutes.

"Guys, I…can't…breathe…"

"Oh, sorry." His mother said, backing up and smiling at him. Lightning looked over to where Sally was hiding, smiling a little. She winked, driving over to the other side of the cone, and sneaking off to her office.

o--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

**Ok, weird place to end a chapter, but I needed to post this before ya'll got too impatient. XD This was actually supposed to be longer, but I guess I'll just continue from here in the next chapter instead. ;)**

**Reviews?**


	4. Chapter 4: The Party

Lightning watched from his spot at the cafe, as Sally drove out of her cone, squinting in the early morning sunlight. He smiled as she approached, watching her as she drove. She smiled too as she parked next to him, and ordered her usual from Flo.

"So, Sal…" Lightning started, catching the glimpses of all the other cars around him. He smiled in relief, seeing as they were distracted with they're usual morning routine.

"Hmm?" She replied, taking a sip from her drink.

Lightning looked down rather bashfully, rolling his tire around on the asphalt. "I was just wondering… If you wanted to go to the party with me?"

Sally laughed. "Of course, Stickers. What did you think? That I was going to go with my _other_ boyfriend or something?"

He smiled in amusement, taking a sip of his own drink. Sally suddenly pulled out onto the road, giving him a quick kiss on the fender.

"Where are you going?" Lightning asked questioningly.

Sally turned around, smiling. "I just have some business to take care of."

Lightning smiled too, giving her a skeptical look. "Well, what time do you want me to pick you up?"

"How about I just meet you there?"

Lightning cocked his windshield, laughing a little. "Uh, ok… I guess I'll see you there, then."

Sally winked, smiling flirtatiously. "I guess you will."

o-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

"So… Buddy, I thought that you was comin' with Miss Sally." Mater said as he sat beside Lightning.

"I am, but she told me that she'd meet me here." Lightning replied, looking around anxiously.

It was already that night, and people were starting to arrive at Willy's Butte, to find it decorated with many different balloons, banners, and confetti. Lightning had made sure that he was all clean, and that he didn't have anything stuck in his teeth (like last time XD) and had arrived early. But it was already 10 minutes passed the arrival time, and most of everyone had already shown up.

_Where is she?_ Lightning thought. _Did she stand me up? No, Sally wouldn't have done that… What if something happened to her?_ He felt a soft nudge to his side, and looked up to see Mater staring blankly at something. He looked in the direction that Mater was staring, and his engine immediately fluttered.

Sally was driving slowly toward them, her sparkly, blue paint shimmering in the moonlight, and a small, dark blue lightning bolt on her side. Lightning realized that his mouth was hanging open, and he quickly shut it, gulping.

Sally giggled when she saw the look on his face. "So, Stickers… What do you think of my new paint?"

Lightning blinked a few times, still staring at her in awe. "I-I it-it's… You look _beautiful_…" He stuttered.

Sally laughed, driving in front of him. "Come on, Stickers. Let's cruise."

Lightning nodded, still at a lost for words, and followed her through the crowd. They got to the old dirt track, and fell in line with the rest of the cruisers. They cruised together for awhile, until Sally noticed a small crowd a little ways away from the track. She looked over at Lightning, then headed over towards it. Lightning followed, confused.

The crowd was mostly girls, most of which didn't live in town, but were just passing through. Lightning only recognized two of the cars, which were the Miata twins, and Lizzie.

"What's going on?" Sally asked as they approached.

The girls looked up from what they had been staring at, and started giggling when they saw who it was.

"This must be from over 50 years ago, when Stanley had fallen_ madly_ in love with me…" Lizzie said, smiling dreamily at the sky.

Lightning looked down in horror at what they had been gawking at, and saw that it was the heart with his and Sally's initials in it. He looked back up to see that everyone (except Lizzie) was staring knowingly at him.

"Uh, I, uh…" He said, laughing nervously. Everyone started smirking, except for Sally, who had a small smile on her face.

"So what? A guy can't think about his girlfriend every now and then?" Lightning asked, frowning.

Sally giggled, going up and kissing him on the fender. "Come, on… Let's go get something to drink."

She led him over to the concession table, where they both got a quart of oil. They drove over to a secluded spot, just sipping on their drinks.

"So… Stickers," Sally started, smiling at him. "How much have you've been thinking about me?"

"Um, well… You know, from time to time…" Lightning replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Yea, ok…" Sally said, scooting a little closer to him. "You wanna know how much I think about you?"

Lightning raised his windshield, smiling. "How much?"

"All the time." Sally replied, cuddling up to him.

Lightning sighed, closing his eyes. "Yea, ok, so maybe I do too…"

"Mmhmmm…" Sally murmured, closing her eyes in content.

o----------------------------------------------------------------------o

"They sure are getting close, aren't they?" Mrs. McQueen asked her husband as they watched Sally and Lightning cuddle from a distance.

He nodded, smiling a little. "He looks really happy. I've never seen him this serious about a girl before."

"I think that you should talk to him."

"Huh?" Mr. McQueen replied, turning to face her.

She smiled. "If he's getting serious, maybe you should have a talk with him."

Mr. McQueen smirked, shaking his front. "We've already had that talk, dear. And I seriously doubt that he's forgotten it…"

"Not that talk. I meant about commitment, and marriage, and kids…" She replied.

"Oh… That sort of talk." He said, smiling. "Yea, I'll do it tomorrow before we leave."

Mrs. McQueen smiled. "And don't forget to give him the—"

"I won't, dear. I won't…"

o--------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

**Ok, so this is waaaaay too short! It's not even a thousand words! ;**

**Reviews anyone?**


	5. Chapter 5: The Talk

"I really had a great time, Stickers." Sally said as they made their way back to the Cozy Cone.

"Yea, me too…" He replied, smiling softly.

She smiled, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Good night."

"Night," He replied, sighing as she closed her garage door.

Lightning looked around, noticing that most of everybody had already turned in. He smiled as he saw his parents approaching, apparently just getting to bed.

"Hey guys, have a good time?" He asked, driving up to them.

"It was fantastic." His mother gushed, smiling widely. "Just _great_! I loved the decorations."

His father just merely nodded, yawning a little.

Lightning smiled. "Glad you had a great time… Well, I guess I'd better turn in. Doc's wanting to get some practice in tomorrow morning, and I've got to get some sleep."

He reversed, slowly driving away from them. Mrs. McQueen nudged her husband's tire, gesturing towards Lightning.

"Right now?" He whispered. She nodded, frowning.

Mr. McQueen sighed. "Oh, alright…. Lightning, wait!" He called after his son.

Lightning turned around, apparently surprised. "Yeah dad?"

"Do you want to take a short drive?" Mr. McQueen asked, giving his wife a side-glance.

She smiled softly, heading into their cone. "Good night, you two."

"Uh… Sure, I guess." Lightning replied, following his dad out onto the road.

They drove on for awhile, Lightning having to stay beside his father most the time, due to his lack of headlights.

"Lightning, I think that it's time we had a father-to-son talk," His father started, looking over at him.

Lightning raised his windshield, chuckling. "We've already had that talk, and I'm 22 years old… You don't _honestly _think that I've never—" He cut off, blushing a bit.

"You've never done what, exactly?" Mr. McQueen asked, frowning.

"Uh… Nothing, nothing… You were saying?"

Mr. McQueen rolled his eyes smiling a little. "I didn't mean that talk, anyways. I want to talk about this pretty, young Porsche that you're seeing."

Lightning blushed even redder, looking at the ground. "What about her?"

"Well, I just noticed that you two were getting pretty serious…"

"So what if we are?" Lightning asked, looking up at him.

Mr. McQueen frowned, giving Lightning a look.

"Sorry."

"Anyways," Mr. McQueen restarted. "I just noticed that you two were getting serious, and wanted to know if you needed some advice, you know…"

"What kind of advice?" Lightning asked.

Mr. McQueen chuckled, looking his son in the eyes. "Woman advice. I _have_ been married for almost 24 years."

Lightning sighed. "I'm not that serious about her… We're just talking."

Mr. McQueen gave him a skeptical look, smirking a bit.

"Okay, so maybe I am serious about her…" Lightning said, looking at the ground. "Maybe I can't stop thinking about her, and she's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I dream about her every night, and maybe… Maybe I'm _totally_ in love with her."

He frowned, looking back up at his father. "But if you tell _anyone_, I swear…"

His father chuckled lightly, smiling as her parked beside him. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

A small silence passed between them as they watched the stars twinkle against the dark sky.

"Hey, dad?" Lightning asked after awhile.

"Yeah?" His father replied, still staring up at the sky.

"How did you tell mom that you loved her?"

Mr. McQueen looked down at his son, meeting his questioning gaze. "Why do you want to know?"

Lightning looked down, playing with the dirt with his tire. "Because… I've been wanting to tell Sally, but I can't seem to get it out right."

His father chuckled, looking back up at the stars. "That reminds me of the first time I told your mother… I accidentally blurted it out, then ran off thinking I was the biggest idiot ever. She followed me, and told me that she felt the same way…"

Lightning nodded, shrugging a little. "Yeah, well… It's a lot harder than it looks."

"Just tell her," His father said, nudging his tire. "It doesn't have to be all mushy or romantic. Girls just want to hear you say it."

"Yeah, but what if she doesn't feel the same way?"

Mr. McQueen smiled. "Oh, she will… I can tell."

Lightning smiled a little—still a bit doubtful—as he looked back to the sky, watching the stars shine above them.

o----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------o

**XX TOO SHOOORT!!!! AAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Anyways, reviews anyone?**


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